No question of post-poll alliance with BSP or any party: BJP president Amit Shah

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

BJP president Amit Shah is confident of his party's win in UP, Uttarakhand and Goa but he is unclear about the outcome in Punjab

In an interview to PTI, BJP president Amit Shah said that there was "no question" of any post-poll alliance with the BSP or any party. He also said the BJP had deliberately not declared its chief ministerial candidate for Uttar Pradesh as it is a part of its poll strategy.

Asked if the BJP would be willing to ally with the BSP or any other party to form a government in the politically crucial state if it fell short of a majority, the BJP president explicitly stated, "Kisi sebhihaathmilane ka dur-durtak koi swaalnahinuthatha (there is no question by far of joining hands with any party)."

A few poll surveys and political experts have forecast a hung assembly in the state where elections are currently being held in seven-phases with the fourth phase set for tomorrow.

In the 2014 general elections, the BJP had won 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha (Lower House) seats, beating the SP-Congress alliance and Mayawati's BSP quite easily.

They will ask your religion & caste first, if that doesn't seem favourable to them, they won't give you laptop: Amit Shah in Chauri Chaura pic.twitter.com/zSOVBahTNV

At an election rally in Bahraich district, SP President Akhilesh Yadav said Modi had not released statistics showing that black money, corruption and terrorism had come to an end after demonetisation.

"You had said demonetisation would being an end to black money, corruption and terrorism. Where are the statistics? (Notebandiseaapne jo kahathakikaladhan, corruption auraatankwad khatam ho jayega, aankadeykahanhai?," Akhilesh Yadav said.

On the SP's seat-sharing with the Congress, Akhilesh said, "If friendship is done with a big heart, it stays but if you befriend a miser the bond is unlikely to last."

After the Congress-SP alliance, the confusion in the minds of the people, has come to an end now," Akhilesh Yadav said at a rally in Shravasti district.

On another front, BSP chief Mayawati said she had been informed by "sources" that the BJP would remove reservations if it came to power in Uttar Pradesh.

"If BJP comes to power in the elections, all reservations will go away, have got information from sources," Mayawati said at a rally in Faizabad district.

"You can only guess how many Rohit Vemula or Una cases will happen if BJP comes to power in the state," the BSP chief declared.

She was referring to Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula, who spoke up for his community and committed suicide in Karnataka and to the thrashing of Dalits in Gujarat's Una after being wrongly accused of killing a cow.

"Now the people will refer to the BJP as 'party of frauds' instead of the 'party of people' not only in Uttar Pradesh but the entire country," Mayawati said in Faizabad.